• District Newsletter

• June Activities Calendar

• Summer Menu

A public meeting regarding finances and facilities of the Hampton-Dumont Community School District was held on April 6. Hampton-Dumont superintendent, Todd Lettow, gave a PowerPoint presentation, and discussed the proposed closing of two buildings in the district. We have posted a link to this presentation.

Community Presentation (To view individual slides, click on the arrows on the lower right side of the video)

Following Mr. Lettow's presentation, Area Education Agency 267 staff members facilitated small group discussions. The folowing questions were presented to the groups (clicking on the question will link you to the responses recorded in the groups):

1. Like most school districts in Iowa, H-D must take action to reduce spending. What suggestions do you have to save money without impacting learning?
2. Closing the Dumont building has the potential to reduce costs associated with facilities. What is your reaction to this option?
3. Closing the auditorium building has the potential to reduce costs associated with facilities. What is your reaction to this option?
4. What additional information would you like to stay informed?
5. Are there other things you want the Board to know or consider?

Hampton-Dumont CSD Board and Administration Share Themes From Community Meeting

Approximately 100 community members took time to participate in a town meeting on Monday, April 6 regarding Hampton-Dumont Community School District finances and facilities.

As part of an ongoing commitment to gather community input and respond to ideas and concerns, the district released a list of common themes generated from the discussion. Staff members from Area Education Agency 267, who facilitated small group discussions on April 6, identified the themes as a service to the district.

According to the report, the most common concerns or ideas included the following:

• Participants suggested the board consider the savings that could be generated by cutting or freezing salaries of district administration and staff.
• Many questions arose around what would become of the Dumont building once closed. What are the costs associated with demolition or maintenance? What’s the impact on staffing patterns? Property taxes?
• Many questions arose around alternative options for fine arts performances if the auditorium is closed. Requests were made for additional alternatives to be brought forth.
• Further clarification is needed about the timeline for decision-making and who actually will make decisions regarding closing the Dumont building and auditorium.
• Participants urged the district to invest time in developing a long-term plan for finances and facilities vs. making decisions based on current circumstances.
• Increased communication with stakeholders was commonly suggested and the district was urged to consider developing a comprehensive communication plan that would include a variety of ways to communicate with parents and community.

“On behalf of the board, we are very grateful for the ideas shared during the meeting,” said Todd Lettow, superintendent. “We understand the uncertainty and concern that exists and will continue to seek ways for the community to stay involved in the process.”

The board is in the process of reviewing the information from the community meeting and planning its next steps.

CONTACT:

Mr. Todd Lettow, Superintendent
Ph. 641/456-2175 or tlettow@hdcsd.org

Some thoughts from Mr. Lettow about the themes mentioned above:

What are the plans for the buildings?
The plans would be to sell the buildings. In Dumont, it would be the hope that the building could become an asset to the community. That could take several forms and the school district would be willing to work with the city of Dumont to assist in that endeavor. If the old Middle School were sold, the school district would investigate the possibility of renting the auditorium for the performances we have during the year.

Where would we have concerts, musicals, and plays?
The gyms are not the most ideal places to perform band and vocal concerts, or to have musicals and plays, so two possibilities are currently being investigated. First is the use of local churches, and second is the theater downtown. I will update this section as I get more information.

About this process and the rationale and timeline:
The decision to close buildings is made by the board. The date for the special meeting for the board to vote on the building closures is Tuesday, May 26 at 7:00 pm. There are important reasons for having this vote before school is out. First, this will allow the staff who are affected by the change to know to what extent they will need to pack their rooms. Second, we are also waiting to fill positions at the elementary depending on the outcome of building closures. More teachers will be hired at the elementary to keep our class sizes small if the buildings are closed. If not, the current teachers will be reassigned to meet the needs in different grade levels. Third, by issuing contracts before school is out, the district will avoid paying unemployment to individuals that are unsure if they have a job to return to. Fourth, a decision in May gives our custodial staff the whole summer to move supplies and equipment and make minor changes to Southside if the buildings are closed.

Long range financial and facilities planning:
You should be able to look at the school budget and tell where the district's priorities are. The number one priority over the last two budgets has been to reduce expenditures so they don't exceed revenues. The current recommendation to close two buildings is aimed at keeping more of the educational dollars that the distict receives in the teaching staff instead of non-educational costs associated with keeping buildings open. I will continue to work with the board to increase our percentage of general fund money devoted to educational personnel. I believe this provides the best opportunitites for kids.

The district's most recent facility planning was centered on building the new middle school. As most of you know, that was a long process and there has been no facility planning committee formed since that time. Long range planning of facilities should be based on the needs of the students as we prepare them for all aspects of their education and post secondary opportunities. The district needs to constantly keep in mind that this needs to be done in the most efficient way possible, in order to preserve educational dollars for educating kids. The Strategic Plan of the 2017 Hampton Area Planning Committee states that school district will update its facilities plan by 2010. It is our intent to form a committee and have an updated plan in place by that time.

Other Frequently Asked Questions...

Recent purchases of vehicles:
Keep in mind that vehicles are purchased out of the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy, not out of the General Fund. The recommendation of closing buildings arose out of budget concerns in the General Fund. Over the past two years, the district has reduced the number of busses by four and we, as a district, will evaluate the need for twelve cars, vans, and Suburbans this summer. Our new truck has assisted us in snow removal, so less of that has to be contracted out.

The district currently buys a bus and one or two cars/vans a year. Last year, the district put just over 300,000 miles on its fleet. Therefore, it is important that we have a rotation schedule in place that will ensure safe vehicles for our students and staff. We currently have fifteen busses, so by replacing one a year, the oldest bus would be 15 years old. Currently, our oldest bus is a 1990. By closing the Dumont building and re-doing the bus routes, we will be able to reduce our bus fleet by two or three more. By reducing these two or three busses, there would be years that we would not have to buy a bus, thus saving $88,000 from our Physical Plant and Equipment Levy. These funds currently are being used for student transporation, the lease of photocopy machines, the bus barn, and technology.

Freezing Staff and Administrators’ Salaries:
The board and I realize that we are in the middle of one of toughest economic downturns since the Great Depression, and that many in our community have experienced lay-offs, reduced hours and pay freezes.  This can be said for most communities in the state.  Yet, the current average for teacher settlements in the state is 3.45%.  We could argue that our situation at Hampton-Dumont is worse than other schools in the state.  We were one of the 104 schools that received a letter from the state saying that if we don’t change our ways, we will overspend our authority.  The letter stated that based on FY 2006, 2007, and 2008 trends; we were projected to overspend our authority by $1,102,622 by FY 2010.

Even as they are struggling with budget constraints, all schools in the state are competing to retain and attract the most highly qualified, motivating, enthusiastic, passionate teachers to work with our students.  During my short time at Hampton-Dumont, we have interviewed and selected our top candidates only to be turned down because of our salary schedule.  I have to wonder how many potential candidates have researched our school to find that Hampton-Dumont’s average pay for teachers is over $2,800 less than the average pay for the twenty schools closest to our size.  In addition, our average teacher salary ranks 8^th among the eight public schools in our conference.  Freezing salaries is only a one year fix and would compound the problem of retaining and attracting the best possible teachers to work with our students. 

In comparing principal salaries, the situation is similar.  Our principals are at the average or below average when compared to other principals’ salaries in the conference.  Of the twenty schools closest to us in size, our average principal salaries rank nineteenth out of twenty one.  My salary ranks third out of the five public school superintendents in the conference that are not shared with another district or serving as part-time interim.  I am, however, above the average compared to the twenty schools closest to us in size.

On another note regarding salaries, I have heard the comment made that the board should just put their foot down and only give a ___% raise.  (you fill in the blank)  Iowa is a no-strike state, so in lieu of striking, the teacher’s union participates in something called “binding arbitration”.  This means that both sides start bargaining in good faith in an attempt to reach an agreement.  If the parties cannot come to an agreement, the next step is to call in a mediator to work with both sides to come to some sort of agreement.  If an agreement is not reached, we go to binding arbitration.  At that point, both sides submit a final proposal for each issue that is not resolved and the arbitrator selects one or the other.  In the area of salary disputes, the district’s ability to pay has typically never been the sole or biggest factor in the arbitrator’s decision.  Other things considered include: the current average for settlements in the state, the district’s past practice, how the district’s salary compares to its conference, other schools its size, and other schools in the area.

In that process, five arbitrators are selected and each side is allowed to strike an arbitrator until there is one arbitrator remaining.   This striking process is what causes arbitrators to side with boards and teachers on a somewhat equal basis if they want to continue to work.  This tends to gravitate settlements across the state toward the state average.  In short, the board does not have the ability to impose a set pay increase; rather, the district must follow the process discussed above.

Close North Side instead of the Dumont Building:
Any school district can more efficiently educate students if they are in fewer buildings.  In our current arrangement in the elementary, we have classrooms/offices that are sitting empty for parts of the day at both South Side and the Intermediate buildings because one employee serves both buildings.  These include:

Some have suggested that North Side close instead of the Intermediate School. However, if we close North Side, this would still be the case because the staff in the above areas would still be servicing both buildings. By moving students to South Side and the middle school, all of these classrooms or offices that are currently sitting empty part of the day will be used most if not all of the day.  Also, if North Side were closed instead of the Intermediate School, we would still have the issue of paying teachers and other employees to travel instead of working with kids.

There is also the issue of transportation savings.  Our transportation director is confident that we could eliminate two and possibly three bus routes by not having the building open in Dumont.  Fewer busses will have further benefits than just the savings of two or three route drivers.  There would also be fewer busses to service and maintain as we consider sharing our transportation director with CAL.

Clarification of the Federal Stimulus Package:
There is no doubt that without the federal stimulus package, K-12 public education would be in a dismal situation much like community colleges and state universities.  The stimulus money does not solve our district problems that are due to declining enrollment.  Over the next two years, Hampton Dumont will receive $509,457 of federal stimulus funds.   Of that amount, $242,039 will be in the area of special education, $178,195 in the area of Title I, and the remaining $89,223 will be used to backfill what the state had planned to give but could not because of the downturn in the economy. In addition, The state did not restore the $82,918 funding decrease resulting from the earlier 1.5% across-the-board cut for this year’s budget, but the $89,223 for next year will defray some of the $200,000 shortfall I talked about in the community meeting.  Because of this our budget reduction in the general fund will only be $114,347 for next year.

With the funds given in Special Education and Title I, districts are charged with school improvement efforts based on the Iowa Core Curriculum that is being released to the schools this year.  The federal government is encouraging schools to retain or add new teaching positions in these areas while the state government is encouraging schools to look at sustainable change that will positively affect student’s education for longer than the two year window under which the federal stimulus funds must be spent.

Balancing the Budget
Letter from the State
Savings from Building Closures

Please complete a survey for our graduates. Your feedback will be used to assist us in addressing the needs of our students. This survey is intended for alumni only. Click HERE to participate.
(This survey will be used by school officials only. Personal information will not be shared with anyone outside of the Hampton-Dumont Community School District.)